


The Santa Dilemma

by mysticalflute



Series: Mistletoe and Holly [3]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Gen, just a whole mess of family, snow and belle were the power friendship adam and eddy were afraid of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-03
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:06:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27854758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mysticalflute/pseuds/mysticalflute
Summary: While planning the first annual Storybrooke holiday parade, Henry discovers that not every fictional character came from the Enchanted Forest...
Series: Mistletoe and Holly [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2035177
Kudos: 7





	The Santa Dilemma

Prompt: What do you mean Santa's not real?!

* * *

Regina wasn’t quite sure how it happened, but somehow, she had been convinced that a holiday parade would be the perfect thing to help acclimate the new residents from the Land of Untold Stories into the town.

What wasn’t a surprise was Belle and Snow being the ones to head the planning committee for it.

“Okay, so we’ve got the lineup prepared, and the marching band has agreed to lead the whole thing, but there’s something big we still need to decide,” Snow said, looking over the list. “Who are we going to get to play Santa Claus?”

Belle hummed. “That is a tough question. You’re sure Gepetto doesn’t want to do it?”

“He said he can’t get his voice deep enough to play Santa properly,” Snow confirmed with a shrug. “I told him it didn’t matter, but he was insistent.”

“It’s too bad too. He’d be a lovely Santa.”

“Can I ask why it’s so important we do this at all?” Rumple grumbled from the family room. “It’s barely November.”

“Parades take a long time to plan, and we want to make sure this one goes smoothly for the new citizens,” Belle said with a small sigh.

Snow nodded in agreement. “Yes, plus the kids at school are already talking about Christmas and Santa… a parade would be the best way to help them get into the spirit of the season.”

“I could always whip one up in an instant, you know that. And what of the other holidays? I know Mary-Margaret celebrated Hanukkah,” Rumple protested as he looked at Snow.

Snow simply shrugged. “We have representatives from all of the December holidays in the parade. Regina somehow made the curse quite diverse in terms of who celebrates what.”

Regina blinked in surprise. “I did? Huh. I never noticed.”

Rumple rolled his eyes, going back to the mat where Gideon and Neal were playing.

“So, the Santa quandary?” Regina coughed. “I would assume Grumpy is out of the running.”

“Nova said she’d ask him, but I think it’s safe to assume, yeah,” Belle said with a laugh. “Although it would be very funny to see him asking kids if they’ve been good boys and girls.”

Laughter filled the house at the mental image.

“Hey, what’s so funny?” came Henry’s sudden voice.

“Oh, hi Henry, Emma, Bae… we’re just trying to find someone to play Santa for the parade,” Belle explained.

“Why not just ask Santa?”

The room was suddenly filled with an awkward silence, perplexed eyes landing on the teenager. Henry had long since stopped believing in Santa, so Regina had no idea what prompted the question.

“What do you mean, Henry?” Snow asked gently.

Henry’s brow furrowed, Emma looked curious, and Bae looked like he was ready for a portal to take him away. Regina couldn’t say she blamed him.

“You could just… ask Santa, right? Isn’t that his job? I mean, what could be better than having _the_ Santa at our parade?” Henry suggested.

“Henry… Santa’s not real.”

There was a pause, then - 

“What do you mean _Santa’s not real_ ?! My mom is the Evil Queen, My grandparents are Snow White, Prince Charming, Belle, and The Beast. Jiminy Cricket is a psychologist and Princess Jasmine just got a job as a teacher, and you’re telling me one of the most famous characters of all time _isn’t real_?!”

Regina shrugged helplessly. “He’s not. Santa is purely a Land Without Magic creation.”

Henry stared at her like she’d ruined the Santa surprise all over again, then glanced over at his grandparents and father. When none of them said anything to the contrary, Henry threw his hands up and left the room, muttering under his breath about the improbability of it being possible that Santa didn’t exist.

“I have to say, I didn’t think this was something I’d get to experience,” Neal said sheepishly. “But uh… I have a suggestion for the parade. That’s what you guys were talking about, right?”

With that, the conversation turned back to the parade, and the busy holiday season ahead of them.


End file.
